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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the venue for prosecution of misdemeanor cases in |
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justice of the peace courts located in certain counties. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Article 4.12, Code of Criminal |
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Procedure, is amended to read as follows: |
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(a) Except as otherwise provided by this article, a |
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misdemeanor case to be tried in justice court shall be tried: |
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(1) in the precinct in which the offense was |
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committed; |
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(2) in the precinct in which the defendant or any of |
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the defendants reside; [or] |
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(3) with the written consent of the state and each |
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defendant or the defendant's attorney, in any other precinct within |
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the county; or |
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(4) if the offense was committed in a county with a |
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population of 3.3 million or more, in any precinct in the county |
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that is adjacent to the precinct in which the offense was committed. |
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SECTION 2. Subsection (a), Article 4.12, Code of Criminal |
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Procedure, as amended by this Act, applies only to an offense |
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committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense |
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committed before the effective date of this Act is covered by the |
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law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is |
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continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, |
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an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if |
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any element of the offense occurred before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |